Rock Me Gently
by Lady Gage
Summary: Warning: This is a pre-slash story involving m/m relationship. It's time for the Desoto's annual Fourth of July barbeque. Two of the guys are excited about their dates and look forward to sharing their stories, but they may not get the chance.
1. Chapter 1

Warning: This is a pre-slash story. There will be a more in-depth version posted on the WWOMB website if you want a true slash version to enjoy.

**ROCK ME GENTLY**

by Lady Gage

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

"Rock me genlty...rock me slowly...take it easy...don't you know that I have never been loved like this before."

He sang loudly along with the tune on the radio. The windows were wide open and people kept looking at him as he passed them, but he didn't care. Last night had been fantastic. The song on the radio echoed his thoughts about the evening.

Who knew they could write a song that said exactly what he felt. He had a grin plastered on his face and the wind whipped through his hair as he drove.

"Ain't it good...Ain't it right...That you are with me...Here tonight...  
Oh Rock me gently...rock me slowly...take it easy...don't you know that I have never been loved like this before."

He didn't notice the dump truck that failed to stop at the red light. His radio was turned up so loud he couldn't hear the horns that blew out in warning...until it was too late.

Then he heard it…

Felt it…

Saw it…

Metal crushed against metal.

Glass pelted his face and arms.

Pain radiated through his ribcage.

Something warm trickled down his cheek.

His head cracked against the window frame making stars dance before his eyes...then gray crept in from the edges of his vision...

and the song continued playing...

"Come hold me close...Don't let me go...I need you, honey...I love you so...You were made for me by the stars above..."

"Someone call the fire department! God we have to get him out of there. He's bleeding." He could hear the words, but they seemed so far away. "Hey mister, can you hear me?" He struggled to hear. He tried to open his eyes, but he couldn't do it.

Then he heard no more.

The halls of Rampart's ER department bustled with activity. Holiday's were always crazy, and this one looked like it would follow in that pattern.

Dixie had planned to be off today, but as head nurse, she had to make sure there was adequate staffing. Betty had called her the night before to let her know she needed to leave immediately. Her father had become suddenly ill, and she had to go to San Francisco. Dixie agreed to cover her shift and now here she was. Glancing at her watch, she sighed. The party at Roy's would be well underway by now.

The light over the base station began beeping. 'Here we go again. Wonder what holiday tragedy this will be?' She pulled open the glass door and walked up to the radio, "Unit calling in please repeat."

"Rampart, this is Squad 36, we have two victims from an MVA. First victim is Code F. Second victim is a male approximately 26 years old, around 160 lbs. He's suffering from an apparent head injury, tenderness in the ribcage, labored breathing with diminished breath sounds on the left, facial lacerations, a probable leg injury, stand by for vitals."

"10-4 36." She tapped her pencil on the counter and reached for the hospital phone, "Page Dr. Early to the base station."

"Rampart victim is still trapped in the vehicle. We're trying to extricate now. He remains unconscious and there is little response to pain stimuli, vitals are…"

Dixie jotted down notes on the information coming across the radio as Joe entered the room followed closely by Kelly Brackett. "What have we got Dix?"

"MVA. It sounds bad." She handed the notepad to Joe.

"Rampart be advised victim 2 is an off duty code I."

The three professionals paled at the last transmission.

Roy ran into the house from the deck to answer the ringing phone. "I bet it's Johnny saying he overslept." Everyone had arrived for the annual Desoto's Fourth of July picnic except Johnny who was usually early in order to help them set up. Roy knew he might be late this year, because he had a hot date last night with his latest fling. "Hel-lo."

"Roy, it's Dixie."

"Hey Dix, happy Fourth of July, we wish you were here." When silence greeted him on the phone a sense dread fell on Roy. "Dix?"

"They brought Johnny in a few minutes ago." She said softly. "It's bad."

Roy felt his chest constrict. He couldn't breathe, "How bad?" He choked out.

"Joe's in with him now. Can you..."

Before she could finish the question Roy answered her, "I'll be there in a few minutes." He slammed the phone back into the cradle.

"Everything all right Roy?" Mike asked him from the deck door.

Roy stood staring at the phone. It took him a few seconds of uneasy silence to respond. "That was Dixie. Johnny's at Rampart." He rubbed his face. "I have to go."

"How bad?" fear shown in Mike's eyes.

"She doesn't know."

"What happened?" Mike was beside him now.

"I...I don't know. I didn't even ask." Roy again stared at the phone.

"Come on."

"Huh?"

"Come on...we'll tell Cap and then I'll drive you." Mike pulled Roy's arm.

"You don't have to..." Roy stumbled after Mike.

"Cap!" Mike called from the deck.

Captain Stanley's head jerked up at the tone of Mike's voice. Immediately he saw concern etched on his face. Something was terribly wrong. Without hesitation he moved to the deck in a few steps "What's wrong?"

"Johnny was in some kind of accident or something. He's at Rampart. Dixie said it was bad but didn't give any details. We're going over there." Mike turned and tugged Roy's arm as he went toward the gate not waiting for any response. He pushed Roy toward the passenger side of his truck, walked around the front, climbed behind the wheel, cranking the engine as he got in and threw it in gear as he shut the door. He buckled his seat belt with one hand as he steered with the other.

Roy barely got the door closed as the truck started in motion. Glancing in the side mirror, he saw his friends and family spill out into his front yard like something from a movie as they sped away.

Thoughts raced through Mike's mind as he drove. How could this have happened, today of all days? He had finally gotten up the nerve to ask, finally given in to the longing. Last night had been...how could he even describe it? It had been freakin' fantastic. It had even out done his fantasies about how good it might be if they ever got together.

He planned to tell Johnny about how good the date had been. He'd thought out the entire conversation this morning. He had rushed over to Roy's early hoping to get a chance to see Johnny before the party.

But this? Not this...not now.

His thoughts returned to the present as he flipped the signal to turn into Rampart. The clicking of the turn signal echoed in the silent cab.

Roy said Dixie said it was bad. What the hell does that mean?

He pulled into the familiar drive to the ER department at Rampart. He and Roy had not uttered a single word since leaving his house. Mike dodged the walking hospital staff and visitors as he drove toward the Emergency parking. He shot the truck into the first empty space he found.

The two men sprinted for the entrance.

Mike hung back and let Roy take the lead. This was his territory. He had all the connections. They ran through the automatic doors and skidded to a halt when they entered the hall. Mike ran into his back then stepped back a couple of steps. Roy looked from left to right as though he was trying to figure out which way to go. Then they saw the treatment room door fly open and a gurney rapidly pushed into the hall toward the bank of elevators.

Dr. Brackett continued calling out orders to Dixie as the entourage moved swiftly through the crowded ER. "Get six bags of blood up to OR STAT. Call up to vascular. Get me a specialist. Whoever is on call. Get him now. Have him meet me up there."

Dr. Early stopped beside Roy, reached out and grabbed his arm moving him toward the elevator. He glanced back at Mike and signaled him to follow.

Dixie ran beside them shaking her head in understanding taking note of Brackett's instructions. They left her standing in the hallway staring at the elevator as the doors closed. She reached inside her uniform pocket, pulled out a rarely seen handkerchief, and dabbed her eyes before turning to make the important calls.

Once everyone was on the elevator, Dr. Early started talking to Roy. "We need your permission Roy. He hasn't regained consciousness. He's in pretty bad shape. Serious concussion, possible hairline skull fracture, broken arm, several ribs, collapsed lung, wrenched knee and something's going on in his belly. We're taking up to surgery now. We'll get things started and have the papers brought out for you to sign. Do we have your verbal consent to proceed?"

Roy looked at Dr. Early but didn't speak.

"Roy for God's sake!" Mike spoke without thinking.

"Y..yeah." The one word was all the doctors needed.

"Okay…talk to him guys. You only have a minute until we get to the surgery floor. Let him know you're here." Dr. Early patted Roy on the shoulder.

Johnny lay completely still on the gurney save for the steady rise and fall of his chest from the ventilator already in place. His bare chest had leads attached monitoring his heart rate. Too slow. His pale complexion marred by the various cuts and bruises spoke of the trauma to his body. The whole thing seemed incredibly surreal.

He wasn't working. He wasn't injured on the job. This was not supposed to happen. Not today. Not at all.

Roy walked up and took his best friend's limp hand flinching immediately at the coldness of his skin. His eyes traveled down the hose following the red fluid leaking from the chest tube the doctors had already inserted. "Johnny, we're here for you, me and Mike. You're going to be okay. Hang in there Junior." His voice cracked on the last statement. His gaze turned to Mike sending him an urging glance to talk to their friend.

"I'm here Johnny. I'll be here when you wake up." Mike bent down next to Johnny's ear and whispered something that no one else could hear then backed away and faced the door. He hated the smell of blood and right now the odor filled the small space and was so strong he could taste it. He could still recognize the faint musky scent of Johnny's aftershave and shampoo mixed with the overpowering scent of his blood. It made him sick.

Roy saw worry on Mike's face, he wiped the back of his hand at his own eyes in a sudden moment of uncharacteristic weakness as he thought this can not possibly be happening.

His medical training was not a benefit at the moment. All of the specialized skills and training only afforded him the knowledge that Johnny's life was hanging in the balance as they rode the elevator. Time was of the essence, and it could very well be running out.

"Doc, what…how?" Roy turned to Brackett.

"Some dump truck blew a light and rammed into his Rover. It took Station 36 an hour to get him out. We thought we were going to loose him before…sorry Roy. It was close. But he's here now." Brackett bit his lip. His hands balled into fists, and his eyes never left the numbers above the elevator doors as the floors clicked off and they drew closer to their destination.

He wasn't usually this rattled by a victim's injuries, but this was Johnny. It was a holiday and no one deserved this any day much less someone who risked his life every day on the job to end up like this on his way to a party. A careless mistake by another driver, he simply had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. It just didn't make sense.

The upward motion stopped creating a slight bounce that rocked the car as it came to a rest at their floor. The drone of stale, boring, piped in music, the hissing of oxygen and beeping of monitors blended with the creaking noises the cables made as the elevator became still. The occupants jerked to attention, ready to move.

The elevator doors slid open and the group immediately sprang into action, practically running with the gurney until it disappeared into the open doors at the end of the hall. Roy and Mike stopped at the double doors that led to surgery. An overwhelming, sterile, antiseptic smell wafted from the corridor hitting them as they approached effectively halting their progress at the imaginary line where the doors stood open. The line where the colors of the floor's calming decorations and pleasant framed pictures stopped, and a stark white hallway stretched before them. They waited as the heavy doors swung shut and watched through the long windows on either door as Johnny's gurney rolled out of their line of vision.

"He's gonna be okay." Roy tried to assure Mike, or was it himself that needed the assurance. He turned and walked slowly to the surgery waiting area. He needed to call Joanne, but he needed a minute.

What would he tell her? She already knew there had been an accident. Everyone had heard that. They knew Johnny was hurt. They knew Dixie had said it was bad. What else could he tell her?

That Johnny already looked like he was at death's door; that the life drained out of him along with the blood in the chest tube. That his nail beds were already blue and there was absolutely no movement behind his eyelids. No, he couldn't tell her that. But that was the reality of the situation. That was what scared the hell out of him right now.

Mike followed him into the small dimly lit room, sunk into the nearest chair, leaned back and rested his head against the wall behind the chair with his eyes closed.

Both men sat for neither knew how long before they heard a ruckus in the hall. "Over here." Chet called to the rest of the group that stumbled out of the elevator and crowded into the small room. "What happened?"

Roy sat forward in his chair, stood slowly and cleared his throat. "He's uh…he's in surgery."

"Well that's brilliant Roy! Is that why we're in the surgery waiting room? Huh? Now tell us what we don't already know." Chet barked.

"Can it Kelly. We're all upset. Now let's not let things get out of hand." Captain Stanley tried to reel in the emotions of the curly headed man.

"Sorry Cap, it's just…" Chet looked at his Captain with sad fear filled eyes. "It's just that we weren't with him. He was alone. He shouldn't have been alone." His hands fell by his side and he sunk into a chair. "If he doesn't make it." The last comment was barely a whisper. They had been through many close calls with Johnny on the job, but this was the first time he'd been injured seriously off the job, and no one had been with him to see how badly he'd actually been hurt. Dixie had said it was bad and Chet's imagination was running away with him.

"Chet," Roy squatted in front of Chet, "listen, we are all very concerned about Johnny, but he's young, and strong."

"I know." He looked up into the kind blue eyes. "What happened to him? Dixie said it was an MVA."

Roy stood back up and directed his explanation to his Captain. "A dump truck failed to stop at a red light. The driver ploughed into Johnny and was killed."

Cap rubbed his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. "He'll have a hard time with that."

Roy continued, "Johnny has some significant injuries. He hasn't regained consciousness. He's lost some blood, but they're transfusing him for that now. He has some internal bleeding they will find the source and put a stop to it. He has some broken ribs, a collapsed lung. That's the worst of it."

Cap put a comforting hand on Roy's shoulder and nodded his understanding. "Joanne said to tell you she would be here as soon as they got everything put away at the house. Emily's going to take Chris and Jenny to our house."

"Okay Cap." Roy sucked in a deep breath, blew it out, turned and walked over to the window and stared out at the people below. This day had started out on such a good note. Now it was barely passed noon, and he was exhausted.

Marco cleared his throat. "Uh Cap I think I could use some coffee. Anybody else want some?"

Mike stood looked from Cap to Marco. Without a word he left.

In the operating room Kel briefed the vascular surgeon before they began the tedious job of trying to locate the source of the bleeding in Johnny's belly. "We'll start with an exploratory laparotomy. Once we find out what kind of damage we're dealing with we can determine the next course of action."

"Okay Kel," Dr. Jennings looked over the x-rays and pointed to an area where there was considerable bruising. "Based on the area of bruising I'm suspecting some liver damage."

"Doctor, his pressure's dropping."


	2. Chapter 2

**ROCK ME GENTLY**

By: Lady Gage

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter Two**

Mike stood stark still in front of the bank of elevators willing one of the doors to open. He needed to get out of there; he needed some air. _'Come on...come on.'_ His body tense, he strained to keep himself from lashing out; his eyes, the only thing about him that moved, darted from one door to the other. _'Open...come on...open.'_

He could hear the cables moving behind the doors...see the numbers light up with each floor...one going up...the other down...either one could be there for him. _'Why are they so slow? Can't someone fix these stupid things? Make them go faster. This is a hospital for christsakes!'_ He clenched his jaw. _'Whichever one opens I'm on it. Up or down I don't care.'_

The rattling stopped and the door slid slowly open. _'This is the car we rode up on.'_ He hesitated, not wanting to step into the space where he'd last seen his friend. The pristine space almost sparkled with cleanliness. All traces of blood, Johnny's blood, was gone. He wondered for a moment who had cleaned it up. He would have cleaned it up if it had still been there. He would have gotten down on his hands and knees with a bucket and a rag and scrubbed every inch of the cracked tile floor. The idea of people walking over the blood spatters, not knowing that it was Johnny's made his stomach churn.

The memory of Johnny's face flashed before his eyes. The difference between yesterday and today was so…he swallowed convulsively. He wanted yesterday back. He would do everything different; he wouldn't have waited. He should have paid attention to that vague sense of anxiety he felt when he woke up this morning. _'I should have called him. I should have offered to pick him up.'_ If he'd known what today would bring, he would have done things so differently. _'I thought we had plenty of time, but now.'_ He squeezed his eyes shut.

_'I have to get out of here.' _

The door began to slowly slide closed; his hand shot out and brushed against the moving door. It returned to it's place behind the wall with a noisy thud. He darted inside, leaned heavily against the back wall and watched the doors try to close again. They popped open. A harried looking nurse stepped inside barely sparing him a glance. Mike noticed her uniform was stained with what looked like droplets of dried blood. He turned his eyes back to the door and stared at it, willing it to close. _'Is everything in this place stained with blood?'_

The rocking of the elevator added to the already unstable feeling he had in his belly. He closed his eyes and held on to the rail at the back of the car with a white knuckled grip. He swallowed hard. His mouth began to water. He concentrated on keeping things in place.

'_This is crazy, Stoker. Pull yourself together.' _

He heard the door open again and glanced up. The nurse scurried out as a happy bunch of people piled in laden with balloons and plants stacked almost so high in the patient's lap he couldn't see anyone in the wheelchair. They were oblivious to the fact that they crowded him against the back wall. He braced himself as he was pushed and jostled. _'How can they be this happy when people are fighting for their lives here?'_ Mike felt anger well up. A smiling face turned to him and apologized. He looked down at the thin dark haired man in the chair. Almost as pale as Johnny had been, the man beamed at the people surrounding him. Mike's anger dissipated as quickly as it had risen. He didn't know what had brought the young man to the hospital, but the group with him obviously were relieved to be taking him home.

Dixie glanced up from the chart she had been making notations in when she heard the elevator door slide open and heard all the happy chatting. A joyous group spilled out into the hall, and she had to smile. She waved back at the little dark-haired girl that trailed along behind, carefully holding a handful of bright balloons. She watched as the happy group slowly made their way down the hallway, laughing and talking. Searching her mind quickly, she matched the dark-haired man with a hit and run from three weeks ago and her smile widened. She loved happy endings. Turning her attention back to her chart, she caught movement from the corner of her eye. Looking up she saw a man's arm reach out and stop the elevator doors from closing.

Just as the doors began to close he pushed off the wall, caught them before they closed, and stepped out. His attention had been on the happy parade going down the hallway. He looked over and saw Dixie McCall. He hesitated for a moment and then turned pale when a gurney raced around the corner. A paramedic was standing on the gurney rails as it moved, administering CPR to a bloody body even as the gurney was rushed into a treatment room. It was like seeing a replay of Johnny being rushed down the hallway. Mike felt his stomach lurch. He watched the treatment room door close behind the trail of emergency personnel and felt like he was suffocating. He ignored the searching look Dixie gave him, turned and almost staggered out of the automatic doors into the sunlight.

She knew it was Mike Stoker. The way he hesitated and then pushed off the back wall reminded her of Johnny. _'He always takes it to heart when someone is injured or when they lose a patient. Johnny would give his life to save another; it must be one of the qualities that make those men such good rescue workers.' _She suddenly realized that Mike looked a little green. _God I hope nothing's happened to Johnny.' _

Grabbing for the phone on her desk she quickly dialed the familiar number to the surgery floor nurse's desk and checked on her friend. "Still in surgery," the nurse on duty had said. She sighed, thanked her for the information and returned to her duties.

Roy stood at the window until he felt Marco bump his arm and hold out a cup of steaming coffee. He hadn't heard him walk up. "Here Roy. I thought you could use this." Roy looked at Marco blankly. He felt another nudge and looked down. He stared at the cup for a moment and then slowly accepted it. Crossing the small waiting room, he slid into a chair and leaned his elbows on his knees. Holding the cup with both hands, he stared at the dark liquid. "Thanks Marc," he said absently.

Marco smiled at him and sat down next to Chet who also sipped some of the hot brew. None of the men knew what to say to make things better. Johnny had been hurt many times before on duty, but as Chet had said earlier...never like this...no one ever expected something like this.

Hank stood and tossed his nearly full cup of cold coffee into the trash. "I'm going to check on Stoker. I'll be back." His gaze swept over the three subdued men and then he turned and strode toward the elevators. He jabbed viciously at the down button, closed his eyes tightly and bit the inside of his lip. It was times like this he wished he wasn't a Captain. He would like nothing better than to dent a few metal doors and punch a few holes in some walls. Sure, it would put him out of commission for a few days, but it would be worth it. He signed. He had to keep it together. He knew that his presence calmed his men. Him losing it was the last thing they needed to see.

The elevator dinged and the door opened revealing a very disheveled Joanne Desoto. "Hank?" She looked up at him with fear filled, questioning eyes that sparkled with unshed tears.

"We haven't heard anything new Joanne." He reached out and pulled her into an embrace. He had a special bond with Roy's wife. The two of them hat spent many an hour in waiting rooms at Rampart when Roy and Johnny had been hurt in the past. She was one of the strongest, most dedicated fireman's wife he knew. She was Roy's rock. Hank felt better about going in search of Mike knowing Joanne was there for Roy. "I was just going down to look for Mike."

"Oh I saw him going out to his truck a few minutes ago. He's parked in the ER parking area." She reached out and placed her hand on Hank's arm. "He didn't look too good. I think this has really upset him Hank."

"Yes, I know." Hank nodded his understanding. The elevator doors started to close. Hank reached out with his arm to stop them. "Roy's right down the hallway with Marco and Chet," he said motioning with his arm. "He's looking pretty upset too."

"Hank..." She waited until he met her eyes "Mike was the last one of us that was with Johnny," She said hesitantly. "He's probably taking this very hard."

"How do you—oh," Hank said uncomfortably. His eyes slid away from Joanne's knowing look. Not only was Mike his engineer, but he was a close friend. He pulled his arm away from the elevator doors and let them close. He wasn't going to share Mike's secret, but if Joanne knew then—"Um, what makes you think that he was…" his voice trailed off. He looked at Joanne and sighed. "Does Roy know?"

Joanne shook her head. "I don't think so; but I could be wrong."

"Did Johnny tell you he—"

Joanne smiled sadly. "No. He didn't. I doubt he ever would."

Hank shifted uncomfortably. "Does it bother you?"

Joanne's eyes widened. "No! Of course not! I just…I wish I had known."

Hank looked at her with a wrinkled brow.

"I've been trying to fix him up with…well, I just wish I had known. I would have done things…differently." She patted his arm. "Find Mike, I think he may need someone to talk to." She smiled and then turned and walked down the hallway.

Hank watched as Joanne walked over to Roy. _'That's one very special woman Roy.'_ She reached down, took the cup from Roy's hands and placed it on the table. The doors opened again. He stepped inside.

Roy felt the soft petite hands he knew so well take the cup from him. He heard her sit next to him. Then he felt her arms as they wrapped around him and he sagged against his wife. She rubbed gentle circles on his back and kissed the top of his head. Roy usually maintained his composure in emergency situations. He had to. It was his job. However, when the emergency involved one of his children or Johnny Gage, he needed the strength his wife provided him to keep it all together. "He looked so pale." Roy whispered.

"What did Dr. Brackett say?"

"Uh he said it was a dump truck."

"A dump truck hit him?"

"Yeah."

Hank stepped out the automatic doors and looked around the parking lot. He spotted Mike's truck, but Mike was nowhere to be seen. An ambulance and squad pulled in, and he moved back out of the way. He leaned against the wall near the front of the first car in the row of parking spaces. Looking again toward Mike's truck he saw Mike sitting on the grass leaning against the front bumper of his truck, evidence of his reason for being out there in the grass. Hank followed the paramedics back into the building and went straight to the men's room. He returned a few minutes later with a handful of damp paper towels and ran face to face with Dixie McCall. "Um excuse me Miss McCall."

Dixie held out the cup of cool water she knew Mike might need to rinse his mouth out. "First of all Hank you are not on duty. Second of all it's Dixie, and thirdly, your friend looked like he may need this."

"Thanks Miss….um Dixie." Hank took the cup. "I think you're right."

Dixie patted Hank on the back. "Let me know if you need any medical assistance."

"Yes Ma'am." Hank started back out the door. He stopped and turned to say something else to the nurse.

Dixie held up her hand and waved him on. "I know Hank. If I hear anything I'll find you."

He nodded, turned and disappeared through the doors.

When he approached Mike's truck, he heard a groan from the front. "Mike?"

Mike heard his name called. He turned and squinted up into the afternoon sun to a tall man standing beside him. Even though he couldn't see his face due to the bright blinding sunlight, he knew it was his Captain. "Cap?"

"You okay Pal?" Hank handed Mike the damp towels and water.

"Better now." He cleaned his face and neck, rinsed his mouth and sipped some of the remaining liquid. It was cool and felt good on his throat. He held out his hand for Hank to help him up. "I don't know what happened. I've seen plenty of victims injured and bleeding. Hell I've even seen Johnny injured and bleeding. But Cap he was so pale his skin looked almost translucent."

Hank pulled Mike to his feet and leaned against the truck beside him. "So, how'd it go yesterday?"

"How'd what go yesterday?"

"How'd it go with Johnny yesterday?"

"How do you—wait. What makes you think I was with Johnny yesterday?" Mike asked nervously.

Hank shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. We met at Roy's and we were all set to go over to your place. And then Johnny called and said he was running late, that he would meet us there. And then Joanne had this problem with the van. Before we knew it, the game was on. None of us wanted to miss it so…"

"So you called and cancelled," Mike said. "If I didn't know you better, I would think that you planned it that way."

Hank slid his eyes over to Mike. "Sorry we didn't make it pal. But I kind of figured you could handle Johnny on your own. But everything went okay…didn't it? Johnny did go over to your place, didn't he?"

Mike stood silently for a few minutes. Pulling his thoughts together about last night brought a slight smile to his face. He cleared his throat. "Yeah. He came over. You know," he said, looking down for a moment, "that's the first time I've ever been alone with him. For a minute, I didn't know what to do." He looked up. "He's different when nobody else is around."

Hank nodded. He invited each of his men over several times during the year. Mostly as a group, but every so often, he would make it a point to just have one man over. He found that all of his men were slightly different when there was nobody else around, but Johnny was the one that surprised him the most. Talkative at work, full of energy, never one to slow down and smell the coffee, he had found that Johnny had a surprising depth to him that was completely masked when he was at work or around the other men. Occasionally during a difficult rescue or during times of high stress, he would see a glimpse of that Johnny, but usually it was only when Roy was around.

Roy heard the familiar footsteps approaching the waiting area. He shot up from the chair and waited for Dr. Brackett to come through the door. He watched as Brackett pulled the mask from his face. The man looked utterly exhausted. His scrub shirt was covered in sweat. His mouth twitched like it always did when he was truly concerned about a patient or extremely angry. "Doc?"

Brackett stopped and wiped the back of his arm across his forehead. "Relax Roy. I just came out to let you know we finally got him stable. Joe's in with Johnny now. We're just about to get started."

"Just starting?" Joanne gasped out.

Kel looked over at her and slightly smiled. "Well you know Johnny always gives us a run for our money. His vitals were all over the place. We've pumped him full of fluids and transfused him. At one point I thought we wouldn't get his blood pressure up enough to handle surgery at all, but then he likes to keep us guessing." He fumbled with the face mask in his hands. "Roy, I won't kid you. It's bad. You already know that." Roy blew out the breath he had been holding and nodded. "We'll do everything we can." Their eyes met and an understanding joined the two men. Roy turned and walked back to his seat to wait. And he would wait as long as necessary for the doctors to perform their miracles and bring his best friend back to him. Dr. Brackett looked at Joanne, Chet and Marco. Joanne returned to her vigil beside her husband.

Chet stood and walked over and looked up at Dr. Brackett. "Tell him we're here for him. Okay Doc. Tell him we'll be waiting for him."

"Okay Chet. I'll tell him."

Chet remained standing and watched as Dr. Brackett walked hurriedly back into the bright white surgery hallway.

Marco stood and walked up beside Chet. "I think I'll go to the chapel."

Chet looked over at his buddy. "I'm comin' too."

"Mike" Hank prodded.

"Huh?" Mike's eyes cleared. "Oh, sorry, Hank. I was just thinking about what happened."

Hank sighed. Sometimes getting Mike to talk was like dragging a charged hose through mud.

Mike smiled slightly at Hank's sigh. He shrugged. "Like I said, he's different when he's alone. At first, I didn't know what to do. He wasn't talking much. That's so unlike Johnny, or at least how he is at the station. I thought maybe something was bothering him, but I didn't want to pry. The game started. We had a beer and just watched it making the usual comments here and there, but didn't really say much until halftime. He still didn't say much, and I got kind of nervous." He chuckled. "I started blabbing about how the team was being managed."

Hank raised his eyebrows. The idea of Mike 'blabbing' about anything was hard to imagine.

Mike didn't notice Hanks reaction. "I think I talked non-stop for about fifteen or twenty minutes and the whole time, I kept telling myself to just shut up. At one point, I didn't even think he was even listening to me."

Hank smiled at that remark. There were times that he spoke to Johnny that he didn't think Johnny was listening either. He had learned that sometimes Johnny did that when he was being presented with a lot of information that needed to be considered carefully.

"Hank, not only was he listening to me, he pointed out a few things that I never even considered. I think my mouth fell open when he answered me." His face turned a little red. "I told him I thought he wasn't even paying attention." Mike snorted softly. "He apologized to me. Can you believe that? He apologized to me because I thought he wasn't listening."

Mike shook his head. "I was blowing it, Hank. My first chance and I was blowing it." He looked over at Hank. "You don't know how many times I wanted to call you and tell you to please come over. It's just…it's been so long and…" he shrugged.

"And then what happened," Hank asked encouragingly.

"Well, he looked at me kind of funny and then told me that he understood if I didn't want to be around him. I just kind of froze and then blurted out this asinine apology."

"For what?"

"I don't know. I just know that he looked kind of sad all of a sudden and then stood up and said he'd better be going."

"So what'd you do?" Hank asked, deeply engrossed in the story.

"I asked him not to go," Mike said softly. "I stood in his way, and I asked him not to go. Actually," Mike said, lowering his voice, "I grabbed his arm and asked him not to go, and then when I realized I did that, I dropped his arm. He told me…"

"He told you what?" Hank asked. If Mike stopped his story now, he was going to choke him.

"He told me that it was okay; it wasn't like it was contagious," Mike said.

"What wasn't contagious?" Hank asked stupidly.

Mike grinned. "It, Hank, It."

"So what did you say?"

Mike shrugged with the smile still on his face. "I told him he was wrong of course." His face turned a deeper red. "I almost…um…well…you know."

Hank shook his head. "No I don't know."

Mike stepped closer. "I almost kissed him," he whispered.

Hank felt his face turn red, but that didn't stop him from asking. "And did you?"

"No, of course not," Mike said. "But he knew I wanted to."

"So why didn't you then?"

Mike's eyes widened. "Because it wouldn't have been right."

"It wouldn't?"

Mike rolled his eyes. "Of course not."

Hank sighed. "Am I missing something here? Isn't that what you've been waiting for?"

"Well…yeah…I mean…no." Mike sighed. "Hank, I respect him. I don't I'll ever meet anyone like him. I don't want to ruin everything by rushing. Stuff like that takes time."

"It does, huh? So, you didn't kiss him. Got it." Hank said. He thought he was handling this all rather well.

Mike turned a darker red and looked away.

"You did kiss him!"

Mike shook his head and smiled.

"He kissed you then!"

Mike's smile grew bigger but he didn't answer the question.

"I won't tell a soul," Hank said. "Scouts honor."

Mike laughed. "We had a good time," he said, avoiding the question. "We went to dinner and after that, we took a long walk on the beach. I don't think I've ever had so much fun." His smile faded. "He's nice Hank. And he's nothing like the way he is at work." He looked away. "I guess I can understand that though." He took a deep breath and let it out. "Hank, please tell me he's going to be okay…"

It was then that Dixie cleared her throat to make herself known. "Ahem."

Hank stood up and looked at her expectantly. "Did you hear something about Johnny?"

"He's finally stable enough to begin the surgery." She walked around in front of Mike and looked him over. "Are you feeling better?"

Mike blushed three shades of red. "Yes Ma'am." He looked at his shoes.

"Well that's good. Johnny wouldn't want you to make yourself sick over this." She smiled.

Mike's head shot up and he looked into Dixie's eyes. _'Does she know too?'_


	3. Chapter 3

This chapter is a bit shorter, but you've waited long enough for an update. I plan on having more for you real soon! Hope you like this. Thank you to all of you who are following this story.

**ROCK ME GENTLY**

By: Lady Gage

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter Three**

Hank could see the shocked look on Mike's face. He smiled knowingly and decided to rescue his friend. "Thank you Dixie for letting us know. We'll head on back upstairs in a few minutes."

Dixie turned to Hank, "Okay. I'll check on all of you in a little while. I'm sure Roy is worrying himself sick as well."

"Joanne is with him now. She'll take good care of him."

"I saw her before she went up. She stopped by the desk looking for him." She smiled and patted Hank's arm. "Well I guess I had better get back to work."

Hank returned to his spot leaning against the truck beside Mike. "So you were about to tell me about that kiss."

Mike thought about the moment Johnny's lips met his. Before he knew what was happening, Johnny had silently closed the gap between them. His hands moved up and gently held his face. Johnny looked deeply into his eyes blinking slowly. What he saw in the coffee brown eyes was desire, hopelessly desperate desire. His heart raced with his own need and in the next instant Johnny was kissing him, hard and full on the lips.

When the kiss ended and Johnny stepped back, Mike raised his eyes to meet Johnny's and an intense heat raced through him that seemed to pulse through his veins right into his soul. He was lost in those eyes, lost in a sea of passion and want that called to him. The heat reached his lips still tingling from the sensation of Johnny's kiss.

"It was just a kiss." Mike said absently.

Hank had been watching the expressions moving across Mike's face. "Oh come on Mike, I can see it written all over your face. That was not just a kiss."

A soft laugh escaped and a smile spread across Mike's face. "No…it wasn't. I tell ya Hank. That had to be the most passionate kiss I've ever had. He said more with that one kiss than he could have ever put into words. Any doubts I had about how he felt melted away as soon as he pressed his lips against mine." Suddenly Mike realized that Hank might not be very comfortable listening to him talking this way about Johnny. "Are you sure you're okay hearing all this?"

"Yes, Mike. I know how important this is, to you and to Johnny. He's shared some things with me in the past. I can't talk about them, because that's his story to tell, but I can tell you that I'm not all that surprised that things went so well for you last night."

"Well like I said we decided to go to dinner. We didn't even finish watching the ball game." He shrugged and smiled shyly.

Hank smiled back at him and nodded. He had thought once the two friends had a chance to get together without the distraction of the Phantom they would have more in common than they thought.

After a couple of minutes, Mike continued the story. "Johnny wanted to go to this little steak place over on the Redondo Beach boardwalk. I'm tellin' ya Hank that was the best steak I've had in a long time. Just looking at the outside of the place you would think it was just some dive bar, but Johnny really knows where to get a good steak." Mike grew quiet again.

"So what did you guys talk about?"

"He's really a very deep person. Did you know that? Who would have ever guessed it? I mean he's always bouncing around everywhere carrying on about one thing or another at work. I never really stopped to think he actually paid attention to the news at all. Well except when he's going camping and wants to check the weather. He amazed me with the things he talked about. I mean like the global economy, the novels that he's read on the best seller list. Hell, I didn't even realize he read books. I guess I never really thought about it. Oh and then there's his knowledge of wines. Did you know he goes to wine tastings? Our Johnny Gage is a bit of a socialite. The chef even came out and spoke to him. They knew each other well." Mike's eyes were wide with appreciation.

Hank chuckled at Mike. For a second he thought he was talking to Johnny the way Mike rattled on.

"What?"

Hank shrugged, "You just sounded so much like Johnny."

"Oh, um…sorry."

"Don't be sorry Mike. I knew you two had a lot in common." Hank patted him on the back. "So what happened after dinner?"

"That's when we went for a walk on the beach." Mike's eyes seemed to take on a dreamy look as he remembered. "We walked from the restaurant down to the end of the boardwalk and right out onto the beach. I think he planned it that way. He didn't say much as we walked. He really took it all in, watching the waves roll in. He pointed out the constellations and explained what they signified in his culture. It was a very special time. We didn't get home until well after midnight." Mike paused and looked at Hank. "I invited him to stay."

Hank knew Mike had more to his story, but he wasn't sure he wanted to hear that part. At least not right now. What he did know is that he had helped Mike calm down enough for the two of them to head back inside to see if anyone had any news on Johnny's surgery. "I'm sure Johnny would agree with you that you guys had a good time together."

Mike smiled at his friend. "Yeah, guess you don't want to hear about the details."

"I think we need to head back upstairs and see how things are going." Hank pushed off the truck and started walking toward the Emergency room entrance. Mike followed him.

Once inside they stopped by Dixie's desk. "Any news Miss…um…Dixie?"

Dixie smiled at Hank's use of her given name. "No Hank…nothing new. Are you two heading back upstairs?"

"Yes ma'am." Hank noticed that Mike had once again developed a red blush. He was still embarrassed that Dixie knew about he and Johnny.

"Well," Dixie came around the desk and linked her arm in the crook of Mike's arm. "I think I'll ride up the elevator with you, and we can all find out together. Besides, I know this one wants to see him as soon as possible."

Mike's already blushing face turned beet red.

Hank laughed at Mike's discomfort. "I think you're right Dixie. I think you're right." He slapped Mike on the back. "Let's go."

"He looked so bad. They needed my permission." Roy spoke softly. Joanne could hear the strain in his voice. She could see the way his eyebrows raised in the middle and he bit the inside of his lip. Roy was stressed. Johnny must have looked really bad.

"Because you're listed as next of kin?" Joanne continued the circular motion she rubbed on Roy's back. "You know you really had no choice to make. He had to have the surgery…to save his life. He will get through this. We have to think positive."

Roy sat up a little straighter. "Yeah…yes…yes he will. He'll get through this and we'll help him like we always do."

"We sure will." Joanne stopped the rubbing and brought her hand around and placed it on Roy's hands cupping his in hers. He looked into her eyes, and she smiled. "We will take him home with us if that's what he needs us to do. We will support him any way we can. You know that sweet heart. We always will. He's going to be just fine." She could tell she was getting through to Roy he smiled a little and pulled her closely and kissed her gently on the lips.

Marco and Chet entered the chapel, walked to the front, knelt, crossed themselves and slipped into a pew.

"Do you think Johnny will be all right this time?" Chet asked his best friend.

"I'm praying that he will." Marco slid down to rest his knees on the kneeling bench at the base of the pew in front of him and began quietly praying in Spanish. Chet kneeled next to him, folded his hands and rested his forehead on them while he listened to the soft sounds Marco made in prayer. They stayed that way for a long time before sliding back onto the seat behind them.

"He has to be all right Marco. We need him at the station."

"I know Chet. I know he's your friend…behind all the fun and pretending he isn't, you care about him. We all know." Marco patted Chet on his shoulder.

Chet worked very hard to make everyone think that Johnny was just his pigeon and aggravated him to no end. He was uncomfortable with the idea that they really knew different. He slumped back in the pew. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I…I mean yes you are right, but don't tell anyone okay? It would ruin my image."

"Okay Pal, I won't tell anyone." Marco stood. "Let's get back upstairs."


	4. Chapter 4

**ROCK ME GENTLY**

By: Lady Gage

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter Four**

Monitors flashed with the slow but rhythmic heart beat.

The clicking of the respirator kept steady time.

Soft jazz melodies streamed through the overhead speakers in the brightly lit room.

Gloves snapped into place and masks covered mouths in a sea of green scrubs.

"Scalpel." A gloved hand reached out for the device. "Okay, let's begin." Dr. Brackett looked up and met eyes with his friend and coworker. Dr. Early nodded and moved his gaze back to the patient. Dr. Brackett began the first incision.

The elevator rattled to a stop on the surgery floor. Hank and Mike stood aside and let Dixie glide past them. "I'll see what I can find out and meet you in the waiting room." She headed toward the nurse's station. Hank and Mike headed toward the waiting room to join the others.

Chet and Marco had just settled on one side of the room to wait. Roy and Joanne remained in the same spot Hank had seen them in before going to find Mike. "Any news?" He asked as he approached.

Roy looked up from his hands that he had been staring at. "No, no news." He sighed heavily.

"They told us he was stable enough to begin, but we haven't heard anything since." Joanne added. "We're thinking good thoughts."

"Dixie told us that earlier. She's at the nurse's desk trying to see if there is anything new. She'll let us know." Hank sunk down into a chair catty corner to Roy. He patted Roy's shoulder. "Hang in there pal." Roy nodded.

Mike walked over to the window and looked out at the beautiful sunny day. His thoughts drifted to the first time Johnny had kissed him the day before. He leaned his head against the glass and felt the warmth from the sun's rays reminding him of the warmth that raced through his body when Johnny's mouth took his. Having just told Hank about it had really got him thinking about how that kiss had made him feel. He had kissed him so slowly, so gentle yet hungry. Every inch of his body had responded to Johnny's mouth-his skin tingled, his collarbones had curled and his back arched, the hollow backs of his knees pulled forward as he molded himself to Johnny's body, even his heels had left the floor and everything inside him had filled up with warmth. That's when he knew, that moment he decided he wanted Johnny to stay.

Mike squeezed his eyes shut blocking out the rest of the memory._'Oh Johnny, you just have to be all right.'_ He turned from the window and walked over toward the door. "I need some coffee."

Joanne stood, "I think we could all use some. I'll help you." She brushed past him out the door and he followed her.

Joanne stopped in the hall and turned to face Mike. "Mike, are you all right?"

Mike looked at Joanne, tilted his head to the side in question. "I'm not the one in surgery."

"I know that, but you have a stake in what's going on in that operating room, don't you?" She placed her hand on his arm. "You have very deep feelings for Johnny. Right?"

Mike's mouth opened and his eyes widened. "How?" He couldn't find the words to finish the question.

"I think I've known for a while now about Johnny's preferences. I guess I just didn't want to listen to my instincts. I wish I had." She shrugged. "Anyway what we truly want is him to be happy. If being with you makes him happy, then we'll be happy for you, both of you."

Mike smiled. "You know I don't even think Johnny knew about me before last night. I think he was as surprised about me as I was about him. I mean I've cared about him for a long time, but I never knew h he…" Mike stuttered not sure how to express what he was thinking.

"You never knew he liked you." Joanne smiled.

"I never knew he liked anyone except the nurses at Rampart." Mike chuckled. "I guess now we know why his dates always ended so terribly and why he got dumped after the first date so often." They both laughed and continued in their pursuit of coffee.

Dixie entered the waiting area shortly after Mike and Joanne exited. She had passed them in the hall and had nodded her head at Joanne's questioning eyes. There was no news. In her hand she held a manila envelope. Roy saw her approaching and knew that the large envelope held the contents of his best friend pockets. He had been on the receiving end of way too many envelopes like this one. He held out his hand and took it without words. Dixie gripped his shoulder in companionable understanding and spoke to Hank. "There's nothing new to report. They've started the procedure. That's all I know."

"Thanks Dixie." Hank leaned forward and planted his elbows on his knees. "We'll just have to be patient." He looked anything but patient, but he had to try for his men. "Please keep us posted if you hear anything."

She smiled. "Of course." Then she looked at Roy for a moment. "He's young and strong Roy."

Roy looked up into her blue eyes and held her gaze long enough for both of them to gain the reassurance they needed that neither would give up hope.

"Tie off that bleeder." The vascular surgeon directed Kel. "Suction."

The surgery nurse handed the device to Dr. Early.

"Retractor. Kel I think we were right about his liver. Look here." Kel and Joe both leaned forward to get a look at the damage. "Okay let's get this taken care of."

The anesthesiologist continued checking the monitors. The numbers were low but holding.

"How is he doing?" Kel asked.

"He's okay for now, Doc." He made a slight adjustment on the drip.

"Get me a swab. He's still bleeding from somewhere. Suction dammit." They worked fervently to stop the bleeding.

After Dixie made her excuses to get back to work and left, Roy poured the contents of the envelope into his lap to take inventory. Johnny had the usual things in his pocket, a wallet, keys, the money clip that Chris and Jenny had given him for his birthday last year.

One thing in particular caught Roy's eyes, Johnny's compass.

Roy had given it to him for Christmas. The funny thing about it was Johnny never needed a compass to find his way. He could follow the angle of the sun or the direction of the shadows to find his way anywhere. Roy had an inscription engraved on the back, "So you can always find your way." It was kind of an inside joke. Roy always used his compass when they were camping. Johnny had felt sort of lost and out of place that year, because he didn't have any family to share the holidays with. Roy had insisted he spend it at his home with his family. Johnny had reluctantly agreed. The compass was to let him know he was a part of their family and should always find his way home to them. Johnny usually only carried it when he was having trouble with something that was weighing on his mind. It gave him comfort knowing that Roy and his family were always there supporting him. _'What's bothering you partner?'_

He slid the contents back into the packet, save the compass which he kept in his hand. He closed his fist around the coolness of it. _'We'll help you find your way Junior, you just hang in there, and we'll be waiting.' _


	5. Chapter 5

**ROCK ME GENTLY**

By: Lady Gage

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter Five**

Mike sat among his co-workers in the surgery waiting area for word on Johnny's condition.

Cap was having a conversation with Marco and Chet about the different chemicals that require foam instead of spray. Roy and Joanne had to be talking about Johnny, because Roy kept playing with Johnny's compass. Mike wasn't talking, actually he wasn't even listening. His friends hadn't noticed that he was so quiet. Mike was always quiet.

Mike was thinking, but his thoughts were not on the waiting or the operation underway to save Johnny's life, no right now all he could think about was last night.

His thoughts were on Johnny's hands, Johnny's wonderful hands roaming over his ultra sensitive skin.

Johnny fingers were long and graceful. He could do amazing things with those long talented fingers. His hands were unbelievably soft considering the hard work hauling hoses could be or the constant handling of the squad's equipment.

Mike looked at his own hands and the calluses on his fingers. 'I wonder how Johnny keeps his so soft. I don't even haul that much hose.'

He dropped his hands back to his lap. His thoughts drifted back to how Johnny's hands moved from his shoulders down his chest and settled on his hips and then pulled him closer...he shivered.

"Mike are you all right?" Hank leaned over and studied his engineer. He looked a little flushed.

"Huh?" Mike looked up from his hands into his Captain's worried eyes. "I...uh...I was thinking about Johnny."

"We should know something soon." Hank tried to assure him.

"I know." Mike's gaze lowered back to his hands and he settled back into thought. Hank eased back in his chair as well and resumed his conversation with Marco and Chet. Mike leaned back resting his head against the wall behind him, and closed his eyes. The stress of the day was catching up with him. He felt himself drifting.

Johnny's hand slid across the back of his neck and pulled him close. He could feel Johnny's warm breaths caressing his mouth before he leaned in taking his lips in a soft teasing kiss. Johnny backed away and their eyes met. He could see Johnny's asking glance. When he saw no resistance in Mike's eyes he came again with more pressure, more desire, his tongue licked across and parted Mike's lips seeking access to his warm mouth.

Mike felt himself giving in to Johnny's desire. He let his jaw go slack and allowed Johnny to probe. His body shuddered. His tongue found the tip of Johnny's, moved about it in tiny circles and pulled it back inside.

Mike's arms circled around Johnny's back. His hands found their way to the back of Johnny's head and into his hair, deepening the kiss.

Chet slammed the magazine he had been flipping through on the table and stood abruptly, "Shouldn't we know something already?"

Then as quickly as the dream had come it was gone.

Mike blinked his eyes several times to clear away the fogginess. He sat up, stretched his neck and looked around the room to see if there had been any news. He couldn't believe he fell asleep even for a minute, but looking at his watch he was relieved to see he had only been asleep for about twenty minutes.

His gaze moved to Hank who looked back at him and nodded letting Mike know they hadn't heard anything. "Sit down Chet. They'll let us know something soon."

"I know." Chet's shoulders sagged, and he returned to his seat. "I just wish…" He turned to Hank and looked at him through sad eyes. "I wish this hadn't happened. You know?"

"We all do Chet, we all do." Marco patted his best friend's back.

Roy and Joanne sat on the other side of the room with their heads leaned close. They seemed to be having a very serious conversation. When he wasn't looking at the shiny object in his hand, Roy kept glancing over at Mike. That made him a little uncomfortable. He wondered what Joanne was telling Roy.

"His numbers are still too low. We have to get this bleeding stopped." Dr. Brackett leaned closer looking for the source.

"Here Kel." Joe moved the suction to another area he thought needed attention.

The soft chords of Jazz were interrupted with the alarms screaming from the monitors.

"His BP has dropped again." The Anesthesiologist explained as he turned off the offending noise. "We need to hurry. We're losing him."

"Roy don't you see? Johnny needs someone in his life." Joanne was trying to get Roy to understand that there was a possibility that Johnny had found someone important last night. She didn't immediately tell him about her earlier conversation with Mike. She was working up to that.

"Of course he does, honey. But why is this conversation so important now? He's in there right now fighting for his life. I'm going to…um…we're going to help him get back on his feet. Something was bothering him. That's why he had the compass. You know the only time he carries it is when he's troubled. He doesn't need it. He can find his way by the angle of the sun, or the direction of the shadows, or which side of the tree the moss gross on. He told me once that this compass was a symbol…a symbol of our faith in him to find his way. a symbol that we would always be there to help him find his way, what do you think he was troubled about Jo?"

"Maybe you should ask Mike." She glanced across the room at Mike.

"Mike?" Roy asked as he too looked over at Mike. "Why would I need to ask him?"

"Because Roy." Joanne huffed. "Johnny and Mike…they…just…can't you see?"

"See what?" Roy cocked his head sideways and looked at his wife.

"Roy DeSoto you can be so frustrating." Joanne leaned her head back against the wall.

"Me? What did I do?"

"Honestly, I thought you knew Johnny better than that." She continued staring at the ceiling.

"Better than…Oh!" Roy looked over at Mike again. "You mean they? Mike and Johnny?"

Joanne smiled and looked at Roy. "I thought you would never figure it out. Don't you see?"

Roy looked at her again. "See? See what?"

"Hmph" Joanne grunted. She was clearly getting frustrated with her husband. "See that Johnny is worried about what you will think. He doesn't know that we know."

"Know?" Roy sighed. "Know what?"

"That he likes Mike." Joanne held her hands out palms up in a 'don't you see' motion.

"Okay…so you think he was going to tell me about it at the cook out?"

"I don't know, but maybe he needed to talk to Mike. I mean, it did seem like Mike was waiting to talk to him. I talked to Mike a little bit earlier when we went for coffee. I think something happened between them last night."

"Happened? Like what?"

"Honestly, Roy you can be so clueless sometimes." Joanne shook her head and smiled.

"You mean?" Roy's eyes widened.

"Yes that's exactly what I mean." She grinned and winked at Roy who leaned forward and looked at Mike again.

Dr Brackett wiped the back of his arm across his forehead.

Dr. Early sutured the tear in Johnny's liver. "That should do it Kel."

"Okay let's get him closed up so orthopedics can get in here to set that arm. Joe I'll do this if you'll secure that chest tube." Kel grabbed for the necessary items from the surgical equipment tray and began the process. "How's he doing now?"

"He's holding steady now Dr. Brackett. His numbers are still a little low, but they're stable."

Roy was the first to notice the doctors making their way into the room. They looked tired, exhausted really. He stood and willed himself to walk across the room to meet them. Joanne was close on his heels. "Doc?"

Dr. Brackett put his hand on Roy's shoulder. "Come on Roy let's all sit down. I have a few things to tell you. First and foremost, Johnny made it through surgery."

"Thank God!" Mike gasped out. Everyone turned to look at the normally silent man. He ran his hand through his hair and returned their looks with a sheepish smile and a shrug of his shoulders. Roy smiled at him knowing that Joanne was probably right about his two friends.

Everyone found a seat close to Dr. Brackett who proceed to fill them in on Johnny's injuries.

"So when can we see him?" Roy asked.

"I think it would be best if we let him rest until tomorrow morning. I think you can see him once we have him in ICU, Roy, but the rest of you can come back in the morning. He's been through a lot. I want to keep his exposure to a minimum." Dr. Brackett stood to leave. "I'll call you when he's settled Roy."

Roy nodded his understanding.

"Well it looks like Gage has done it again!" Chet slapped Marco on the back and stood up. "Come on Marco let's go celebrate."

"Right behind you Chet." Marco stood also. "But I want to make a stop by the chapel. I think we need to send up a word of thanks first."

"Yeah, I know that." Chet said as he rolled his eyes. "Mikey, you want to come too?"

"Um…no…I think I'll hang around her for a while just to be sure." Mike settled back down in his chair to wait.

"How about you Cap?" Marco extended the invite to his Captain.

"Not today guys. I need to catch up to my wife." Hank sat down next to Mike. "But you two have one for me."

"Okay Cap." Chet wrapped his arm around Marco's shoulder, and the two men left the room talking about Johnny and his nine lives.

It was a couple of hours later before Roy was allowed to go up and sit with Johnny for a few minutes. Then the group of friends left Rampart to return again for morning visiting hours.

By afternoon the day following Johnny's surgery he had regained consciousness, by the second day he was fighting the respirator. Since he fought the respirator so much, Dr. Brackett had decided to take him off of it with the understanding that if he felt it necessary they would put him back on it later.

Roy had just spent the midday ten minute visitation telling Johnny what had happened to him. He was still pretty confused and probably wouldn't remember. Johnny had been running a temperature so Dr. Brackett still had not allowed anyone other than Roy to visit, but had promised the guys that they could see him that evening.

Mike had been at the hospital for most of last two days and decided to just hang around in the ICU waiting area. When Roy left to go run a few errands, Mike wandered down the hallway to stretch his legs. They were back on shift tomorrow, and he desperately wanted to see Johnny with his own eyes.

He had managed to ease past the security doors that only opened to allow family members or hospital personnel to enter and only during regulated visiting hours. He waited until the nurses were busy delivering medications and checking on their patients to move down the quiet hallway. He figured if he looked like he knew what he was doing they might not notice that he was out of place.

He slipped into the ICU room hoping he would find Johnny awake, leaned against the wall and looked at all the machines and wondered how anyone could get any rest in the hospital with all the noise from the monitors and things hooked up to them. There were cords and tubes running out from beneath the covers in every direction. IVs hung on the pole above Johnny's head. He looked pale, almost white which was such a contrast to the healthy glow he always had. A lump formed in his throat, Johnny had almost died. He knew how serious Johnny's injuries were. He'd seen him before the surgery. Truthfully, he didn't look much better now than he had when they wheeled him into surgery. Mike could feel the moisture collecting in the corners of his eyes. He rubbed his hand across his eyes when it threatened to leak out. 'Please hang in there Johnny. We need you. I need you.'

Johnny stirred a little and coughed causing his face to twist into a grimace of pain.

Mike pushed off the wall and walked slowly up to the side of the bed and was rewarded with sleepy brown eyes. "Hey sleepy head." He reached over and placed his hand on the top of Johnny's head. That was all he dared do, not knowing how much Johnny remembered.

Johnny looked up at him questioningly. "Mike?"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing since you woke up." Mike smiled down at him.

"Okay I guess. I...don't...what...what happened?"

"You were in a car accident." Mike could see the immediate worry in Johnny's face. He brushed the hair from his forehead. "Hey, it's okay. It wasn't your fault, and no one else was in the car with you."

Something about Mike's hand touching him felt good, felt right. He felt…safe.

Mike watched as Johnny relaxed some. "Listen I better go. I'm not even supposed to be in here." He glanced over his shoulder at the door.

Johnny smiled a little, "You snuck in?"

Mike chuckled, "Yeah."

"I can't believe it. Mike the guy that never does anything wrong snuck into my room." Johnny said softly.

"Well not that anyone knows about." Mike smiled back. "I have my secrets. I'll be back later...uh...during visiting hours. I'll tell the guys you're awake and looking better."

"How long?" Johnny looked up at him with worry laced brown eyes.

"How long? You mean how long have you been here?" Johnny nodded. "Three days."

Johnny's brow wrinkled, "How bad?"

"Don't worry about that right now. It was not an easy three days for any of us. Roy and the Docs can fill you in on the rest. You know I don't get all that medical lingo." He placed his hand on Johnny's arm. "I really do need to go."

Johnny nodded. "Thanks Mike." As soon as Mike's hand left his arm and the warmth from it was gone Johnny felt the worry about what had happened creep back in.

Mike turned and slipped out of the room hoping he wouldn't get caught. At the end of the hall, just outside the ICU doors, he stopped and leaned heavily against the wall. It didn't look like Johnny had remembered.

Johnny closed his eyes. Something seemed to be gnawing at the back of his mind. He felt a comfort with Mike he didn't remember feeling before. They had always been friends, but he was so quiet and reserved at the station, and other than sharing date stories, they didn't seem to have a lot in common, or did they? Something had changed between them, only he couldn't remember what.


	6. Chapter 6

**ROCK ME GENTLY**

By: Lady Gage

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter Six**

Before he had a chance to dwell on the difference in the way he felt with Mike, Johnny's eyes slid closed.

Dixie came off the elevator just outside the ICU doors. She stopped when she saw Mike Stoker leaning against the wall. His face looked pale; his breathing ragged. She could tell something had upset him, and upset him a lot. Fearing that something had happened to Johnny she quickly moved in his direction.

Mike struggled to regain his composure. He felt weak in the knees; he knew people would think something was wrong with him. He just couldn't seem to get a handle on his emotions. Johnny didn't react to him…other than his usual friendly way. _'I just wanted to let you know how glad I am you are going to be okay. I just wanted to tell you how much you mean to me, how wonderful our night was.'_ He squeezed his eyes shut. _'You don't remember. Was I just kidding myself? Maybe it didn't mean that much to you.'_ He suddenly felt someone's presence next to him. He looked up into the worried blue eyes of Nurse McCall.

"Mike?" She asked in her soft comforting voice. "Is everything all right? Is it Johnny?"

"No…Yes…I mean…he's okay. I just saw him." He rolled his eyes and nodded his head realizing he had just told on himself for sneaking in to see Johnny when it wasn't visiting hours. "He was awake."

Dixie stood looking into sad eyes. "Then what is it?"

"What?" Mike asked nervously.

Dixie hooked her arm in Mike's and led him to the waiting area. It was nearly empty. One couple sat in the far corner. She moved over to the opposite side of the room and steered Mike toward a chair. She took the one beside him. "I know that we don't know each other that well, but I know you are a good friend of Roy and Johnny's."

"Humph," Mike made a noise and turned his face away, "Yeah, a good friend."

"Mike." Dixie could tell something really heavy weighed on Mike's mind. She placed her hand on his arm and squeezed it slightly. "I know you care deeply for Johnny. If I know him like I think I do then I would be very surprised if he didn't feel the same way about you."

Mike turned and looked into her eyes. He saw sincerity, but in his heart he knew that Johnny hadn't remembered. _'If he can't even remember then he can't possibly feel like I do about him.'_ "I don't think so." He whispered as he turned away again.

"Why would you say that?"

"When I saw him he acted like he always has. Like with any of the guys…not…" He shrugged.

Dixie reached out and took Mike's chin in her hand turning him to face her. "What happened in there?"

"What do you mean?" He knew exactly what she was asking him, but he didn't know if he should tell her.

Dixie's mouth spread into a frown and she nodded her head from side to side. She once again looked into his eyes. "Mike, I know."

Mike hung his head and quietly considered opening up to her for a minute, but that same old fear of rejection crept up and got the better of him. "I don't know what you're talking about." He said softly.

Down the hall, behind the security door that separated the ICU from the rest of the hospital the nurse assigned to keep her eyes on the different monitors to each patient noticed that one patient in particular's heart rate had increased.

Johnny slipped deeper into the dream. He could feel his heart racing in his chest. His hand came up and brushed against the well toned chest where it came to rest just at the top button of the dark, body hugging shirt. Johnny slipped his fingers across the button and easily flipped it open; then moved down to the next button while never taking his eyes from the handsome face. But for some strange reason he couldn't make out the face. He knew it was someone important, someone he wanted to be with. His body reflexively swayed forward. He slid his hands beneath the shirt and slid it off the strong shoulders letting it fall to the floor.

Johnny admired the well chiseled chest in front of him. His eyes traveled down the Pecs and six-pack abs. His hand absently moved across the smooth skin and dusting of chest hair settling beside the dusky nipple. Johnny ran his thumb across it, teasing it into a stiff peak. He smiled seductively and let out a soft gasp. "Beautiful."

Then the moment was lost. "Mr. Gage. Everything is all right Mr. Gage. You're safe now. Wake up for me. You're having a bad dream." The nurse gently shook his shoulder. "Mr. Gage, can you hear me? Please calm down. You need to calm down."

Johnny slowly opened his eyes and frowned up into the nervous eyes of a pretty young nurse. "Hm?"

"That's better. You were dreaming." She fussed with the beeping monitors. Once she had silenced the repetitious bleeping she reached for his wrist to check his pulse to the reading on the monitor. Then she smiled down at him again. "Do you know where you are?"

Johnny rolled his eyes at the standard question. "ICU." He whispered.

"Well yes, but do you know where?" She moved to the end of the bed and took the chart from the hook, opened it and jotted something down.

"Hospital."

She looked up at him with a wrinkled brow. "Um Mr. Gage, do you know the name of the hospital?"

Johnny sighed deeply, "Rampart, Johnny Gage, don't remember when or why." He rattled off softly without further prompting. The conversation was exhausting him. He closed his eyes and drifted again.

Johnny found himself unable to move, unable to take his eyes off of the man in front of him or the growing hardness straining against skin tight jeans. He felt fingers brush his arm sending ripples of desire bubbling deep inside.

Warm hands moved across Johnny's chest and down his arms; then traveled around his hips and down to cup the cheeks of his firm ass. He leaned in to feel the warmth of the man before him and sighed.

He felt himself being lowered down to the bed. A shiver moved across his body as he felt the weight of the man and then heated skin brushing against his inner thighs. Johnny's hands moved to his lover's back where he felt the strong muscles flex and release as they moved with each other. He bit his lip to keep from screaming at the delicious feeling of pain mixed with pleasure blending to send him into a euphoric state of ecstasy.

Dr. Brackett looked down at his patient. "How long has he been like this?"

Johnny's head turned from side to side. Soft moans slipped from dry cracked lips. Sweat beaded on his brow.

"He had a bad dream about twenty minutes ago. I managed to wake him up and his heart rate slowed to within normal limits. He quickly fell back to sleep, but almost as soon as I got back to the station, we noticed the rate had accelerated again. That's when I thought it would be best if I paged you."

"Was he coherent?"

"I think he was. He knew he was in ICU." She smiled. "I think he was trying to tease me. I asked him if he knew where he is and he told me the hospital."

"Did he remember what happened?" Dr. Brackett pulled the blanket down and checked for redness around the surgery incision on Johnny's abdomen. "I think we need to change these dressings."

"I'll get the supplies." She turned to leave the room.

"When was his last dose of pain meds?" Dr. Brackett asked as he flipped through the chart.

"About an hour ago." She waited to see if he wanted anything else before she left the room.

"I think we can go ahead with the next dose." He pulled the pen from his shirt pocket and made some notes in the medical record.

"Do you think he's in pain?"

"He could be. His temperature is slightly elevated, too." The corner of his mouth twitched. He snapped the chart closed. "What's going on with you Johnny?" He blew a breath out. "Let's draw some blood and send it down to the lab. The last thing he needs is infection to set in."

His moans grew louder as his body quivered in total release. He could feel the pressure building deep inside. The teasing, trembling sensation of the approaching climax was effectively driving his body totally mad.

Back in the ICU waiting area, Dixie smiled knowingly at Mike. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. It's written all over your face."

Mike looked at her with his mouth open, caught in mid word. "I…he…we…" He stumbled over the words that just wouldn't come.

"He what Mike?" Mike's eyes shot up at the sound of the deeper voiced question into the face of his captain. "What happened? Is Johnny okay?"

Dixie stood up to answer, "Johnny is resting. He's doing as well as can be expected. Mike here is the one who needs some attention right now." She winked at Hank. "I'll just go check on Mr. Gage and let you know how things are on his end."

Hank took the seat she had vacated. "What's going on Mike?"

Mike leaned forward, rested his elbows on his knees and ran his hands through his hair. "I don't know Cap."

Hank leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. "I think you do."

Mike leaned back as well and rested his head against the wall. "He doesn't remember."

"He doesn't remember what?"

"Us, Cap…"

"Oh." Hank answered slowly, drawing out the word.

"I saw him." Mike stood up and paced in front of the row of chairs.

"Sit down Stoker. You know I hate pacing."

"Yes sir." Mike resumed his seat.

"Now first of all, you know that after a concussion things can be fuzzy for a while. You also know waking up groggy after surgery can be fuzzy too, right?"

"Yeah, but…"

"No buts Mike. Johnny almost didn't survive this accident. Give him some time." Hank leaned forward and looked at Mike to see if he understood.

"I don't know." Mike leaned his head back again.

"I do know. I know Johnny. Give him some time."

Mike sighed. "Okay, I guess…Uh…I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right. I'm the Captain." Hank chuckled at his own joke.

Mike lightened up a little and laughed with him. "That you are."

Dixie stopped at the nursing station to let the duty nurses know she was checking on Johnny. Seeing the monitors for his room she became concerned at the rapid heart rate.

"Uhn." Pain mixed with the glorious feelings running through his body. Gut wrenching pain where the hands pressed against his abdomen. He pulled away from the touch. "No…don't." He gasped out the words. "Stop." He tried to push the hands away. He wanted the nice warm loving hands back.

"Take it easy Johnny. We're just changing the bandage." Dr. Brackett pushed Johnny's hand away easily. "Hold his hand out of the way." He directed the nurse as he finished securing the tape against the gauze.

"I'll do it." Dixie told the nurse as she gently took hold of Johnny's hand. "Shhh…sweetheart, it's okay. I've got you."

Johnny struggled weakly, ineffectively against her hold. His back arching slightly against the pain the hands left behind.

Dixie smoothed his sweat soaked bangs from his forehead. "Could you get me a damp cloth please?" She asked the floor nurse.

Dr. Brackett slipped the needle into the IV port and administered enough pain medication to keep Johnny pain free for a while. "I want to restrict his visitors this evening. He needs total rest."

The nurse agreed as she passed the damp rag to Dixie. "Yes sir, I'll post a note at the nurse's station." She looked down at the sleeping man. "They won't be happy about it."

"Who won't?" Brackett asked.

"His friends."

"Roy will understand."

"Not Roy, Dr. Brackett. I know he and Mr. Gage are paramedics. I meant the other guy, the tall one with the soft brown hair and blue eyes."

Brackett studied the nurse trying to figure out who she meant.

Dixie smiled with understanding, but she would never tell Kel what she knew. That was not her secret to share.

"He snuck in here earlier for a minute. He's been here more than the others, even Roy." She smiled.


	7. Chapter 7

**ROCK ME GENTLY**

By: Lady Gage

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter ****Seven**

Roy hurried to the elevators at the end of the ER hallway. Glancing at his watch he hoped he could sneak up to check on Johnny before Brice got there with the squad. The doors opened and he ducked inside. They hadn't been allowed to see Johnny last night. His fever had spiked which wasn't that unusual after such severe trauma and surgery, but with Johnny everything seemed to be worse than the norm. He looked up at the numbers, each lighting up as the elevator ascended to the ICU. _'I sure hope your fever is down this morning.' _

Doctor Brackett had called up to let the nurses know Roy could see Johnny for a few minutes. He hadn't made it up there yet himself, but they had said Johnny's fever was down from last night. It would do Roy a lot of good to see his partner for a few minutes, and with the job of Paramedics there wouldn't be any guarantees he'd be back anytime soon to be able to do that. They could be called out to a big structure fire or brush fire that would keep them in the field all day, or they could be stuck at the firehouse waiting on the klaxons to sound for what would seem like hours and hours. A fireman never knew what calls he would face.

The doors opened and Roy stepped into the quiet hallway. He approached the automatic doors to the ICU ward and pressed the intercom button.

"Yes, may I help you?" echoed through the small speaker.

"Yes, I'm here to see Mr. Gage." Roy nervously answered. He would feel much better when the doors swung open to allow him entrance.

"Mr. Desoto?" The tinny voice came through the speaker once again.

"Yes." He turned to face the doors as he heard the latch and then watched as they slowly opened. As soon as they were wide enough apart for him to slip through he did. There was no telling how long he would have until the HT in his hand called him back to service. He walked quickly to Johnny's cubicle and slipped inside.

Johnny lay in the bed with his head slightly elevated. His face looked better than before, but was still too pale and his cheeks still fever bright, but he was the most wonderful sight to his best friend.

He tried for what seemed like forever to pry his eyes open, but they felt like they had lead weights holding them closed. He could hear the muffled sound of his ICU room. The clicks, swooshes and soft whirrs of the familiar machines seeped into his groggy awareness, and he felt hot.

Roy heard Johnny's breathing change from that of a deep sleep to one trying to return to the land of wakefulness. He knew the machines kept track of Johnny's vitals, but he still reached over and gently wrapped his fingers around his wrist anyway…just to be sure. He watched as long dark lashes began to flutter on his flushed cheeks before talking to his friend. "Hey Junior…are you in there?"

Roy…Johnny could hear Roy talking to him through the fog. "Uhnnn." He struggled again to open his eyes. With each flutter of his eyelids he could see a little more light and color.

"Come on Junior, it's time to wake up." Roy squeezed the cloth he'd been using to wipe Johnny's face of the fever that they'd been fighting since yesterday. It had finally started a slow journey down during the night. He carefully folded it and laid it across Johnny's heated brow which brought more flutters of his eyelashes. "You're still at Rampart in ICU, but you're doing better this morning. Can you open your eyes for me?"

Glassy brown orbs peeked out from beneath the heavy lids and wandered around the room. Once they landed on Roy, they stopped roaming. "W…wha…"

"It's okay Johnny. You're gonna be okay. Just take it slow." Roy brushed the cloth back and through Johnny's damp hair and dipped it again into the cool water before returning it to his brow. Johnny's eyes closed once again. "Ah ah ah, you need to stay awake until Dr. Brackett gets here."

Johnny struggled to open his eyes again. He looked at the blurry figure of his best friend. "Where…" He whispered.

Roy sighed. He knew he'd just told Johnny, but in his current state he wouldn't remember so he repeated it again. "You're still at Rampart in ICU, but you're doing better this morning."

'_Why is he repeating himself?'_ Johnny drifted again for a minute. He knew where he was. Didn't he ask something else? He thought he had. Maybe he needed to try again. "Where's M…?" Things seemed to be moving in slow motion. He couldn't get the words to come out. His mouth felt like cotton and his lips felt swollen.

Before he could try again the door slid open and Dr. Brackett came in the cubicle. "How is he this morning Roy?" He didn't wait for an answer. He pulled the chart from the end of the bed and started reading. "His fever has come down considerably. His oxygenation has improved, and his BP is approaching his normal range. I'd say you're headed in the right direction Johnny." He made some notes in the chart and returned it to the holder.

"He's still somewhere between awake and not awake Doc." Roy watched Johnny's eyelids still struggling to stay up.

'_I know he was here. Why would he leave? Did I do something? I always do something to get dumped, but I thought we had something…special.'_ Johnny could think better than he seemed to be able to get words to come. He tried licking his lips to see if that would help them cooperate, but his mouth was just too dry to even wet his lips.

"Roy, why don't you get him some ice chips? I think he could tolerate that. We'll try some water in a little while when he's more alert. I've stopped the sedative, but he's still very weak. It may be this evening before he can actually wake up and be aware of what's going on."

"Sure Doc, I'll be right back." Roy hurried from the room to ask the nurse at the desk for some ice chips.

Johnny watched disinterestingly as Dr. Brackett checked the various machines. His eyes felt heavy again. They just wouldn't stay open. He wanted to stay awake long enough to see if he came back, maybe he had just stepped out for a minute, but his eyes had other plans.

Roy came back into the room with the ice chips. "Hey…stay awake a minute." Johnny blinked up at him. "Here, try this." He put the spoon of chips on Johnny's lip and waited for him to open his mouth.

'_Cold…wet…'_ Johnny opened his mouth a crack, so Roy could slip the ice into his mouth. It felt wonderful as it melted and the cool liquid slid down his throat. He opened his mouth for more.

"Okay, but we need to take it slow." Roy gave him another spoonful and then sat the cup on the bedside table, and watch as Johnny slipped back into dreamland. "He's out again." Roy turned and smiled to Dr. Brackett. "He really is going to be okay, isn't he?"

"It I have anything to do with it, he is. But right now he needs to sleep, and you need to go back downstairs and rescue Dixie from your temporary partner. Brice is busy telling her the proper way to dispense supplies, and I'm a little worried for his safety." Kel patted him on the shoulder.

Roy picked up the HT from the table and looked over at a sleeping Johnny once more before leaving. "Okay Doc. I guess I'd better go save Craig from himself." Both men laughed as they left the cubicle.

Mike kept to himself most of the time at the station anyway, but today he was even more secluded.

He lay on his bunk in the dorm, his hands folded across his chest; his eyes focused on a dark spot on the ceiling. He remembered exactly how the stain had gotten there. It was another of Chet's pranks on Johnny that had gone awry as they often did. A water bomb would deploy on the wrong victim. A well placed prank would be forgotten while on a run that went passed shift change, only to be lost on the next shift. Most of the Phantom's pranks were staged against his pigeon, Johnny.

Thinking about the stain on the ceiling and its intended target caused a lump to form in Mike's throat.

It had been St. Patrick's Day not long after Hank Stanley had become their Captain. They had been on several calls and had struggled through Chet's green Irish stew for lunch. Johnny and Roy had just returned from a child down call that had not gone well. Chet didn't have time to disassemble the rigged surprise of green tinged water before Johnny hurried to the dorm right after the squad had rolled to a stop.

Roy had just finished telling them the child hadn't survived when Johnny could be heard yelling and throwing things. The green liquid splattered all around the room as he threw the catapult and ripped his now stained green uniform shirt off flinging it into the air as well. Captain Stanley had to call Johnny down to get him to stop. The darkness that flashed in his eyes had nearly ripped Mike's heart out back then, and he felt the same way right now.

He stared at the spot knowing that it was the exact spot that the catapult had struck as it sailed across the room.

He remembered Johnny sinking to his knees in the middle of the room and planting both of his palms on the floor…spent from exhaustion and heartbreak at the loss of another young life. He stayed like that for a few moments, while everyone stood and watched in shock, and then he rose slowly, apologizing to Cap on his way to the shower.

Mike closed his eyes and thought about it…that was the first time he noticed the strength of character that Johnny possessed. It was the beginning of a deep appreciation he had for the man behind the uniform…the man he now loved with every fiber of his being…a man who thanks to the injuries he suffered from a bad traffic accident, may not even remember their first time together.

Johnny relaxed and gave in to the heaviness of his eyelids allowing them to close as he slipped into sleep.

He still felt warm, but somehow that was okay, as long as the warmth was coming from the body next to him, curled into him in a perfect fit. A warm hand glided down his arm and rested on his bare hip. He wrapped his arm around and held him close pulling his unresisting body against him; that is how they slept…tangled in a comfortable embrace, spooned against each other basking in the afterglow of a wonderful evening.

The image of bliss exploded into one of breaking glass and screeching metal.

The alarms rang out loudly as Johnny shot up in the bed screaming, "Mike! Oh God!" He pulled weakly at the sheets. He grabbed the bed rail and jerked at it trying to get it to move. He was trapped. Something had happened. _'Mike is gone. Roy knew, but he wouldn't tell me.'_ He gasped for breath. Grayness edged into his thoughts. "Help! Help me!"

The nurse charged into the cubicle, "It's okay, Mr. Gage. You're having a bad dream." She reached for the alarms to stop the incessant noise. "Shhhh…" She put a reassuring hand on Johnny's shoulder. His eyes continued to search the room. He was trembling and trying to get enough air to survive. "It's okay." She said softly as his eyes began to droop. She helped him to lie back down. "Let's get you settled." He allowed the exhaustion to take him back. "Shhh…now that's better." She soothed.

Johnny's mind took him back to the good part of the dream.

Piece by piece they slipped from their clothing; littering the floor on the way to the bed. Warm strong hands continued exploring. Their mouths pressed against each other's in hungry passion. Mike's warm hands moved across Johnny's chest and down his arms. He wrapped his hands around Johnny's sensitive hands and urged him into a smooth stroking motion while his other hand traveled down and around his slender hip to cup his firm ass. Johnny leaned into Mike's warmth and sighed. Together they sunk down onto the bed. Mike pushed against the rhythm of their hands. He took Johnny's mouth with his again and moaned with the pleasure that was building inside.

Johnny knew he wanted to be with Mike. He'd known it for a long time, but never thought it would happen. The sensations racing through his body were very near overwhelming. "Take me, please, take me." He breathlessly whispered into Mike's ear.

Mike smiled and nibbled a sensitive spot near Johnny's collar bone. "Mmmm." He pushed against their hands one more time and reached across him. "You sure?" He looked into the beautiful desire in Johnny's eyes as he pulled the table drawer open and fished inside for the tube.

Johnny blinked slowly. He felt intoxicated. "Take me." He pressed his hardness against Mike's thigh.

Then fuzziness filled his mind, a tear slowly slid from his eye and trickled down his cheek. Mike was gone, and he was alone again.

The HT in Roy's hand squawked to life. He responded to dispatch as he exited the elevator. "Brice!" He called to his temporary partner and waved the HT as he turned to hurry to the squad. He smiled when he turned away and Craig couldn't see him. Dixie had flashed him a thumbs up behind Craig's back.

Mike ran to the Engine as the last of the directions rang over the loudspeaker. It sounded like a big brush fire. He hoped they wouldn't be stuck there passed shift change, but these things often lasted for days. The men of Station 51 might very well be sleeping on cots in a rest tent tonight.

The alarms sounded once again alerting the ICU staff to a patient in distress.


	8. Chapter 8

**ROCK ME GENTLY**

By: Lady Gage

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter ****Eight**

The thoughts of Mike being gone…ripped away from him before they had a chance to explore their new found attraction had Johnny hyperventilating. The shrill alarms announced his elevated heart rate. When the nurse came rushing into the room she found her patient gasping for air; she glanced at the readings on the various monitors and swiftly reached for the oxygen mask. She twisted the knob to open the flow of precious air and slid the mask over Johnny's face. Somewhere in his oxygen starved has he knew what she was doing, but he didn't care. Without Mike he had nothing.

Dr. Brackett burst into the room and started barking orders for diazepam and vitals before he even got half way across the room. "Johnny? Are you with me? It's all right. Calm down for me." Like the nurse he quickly scanned the readings on the various machines. "What the hell happened?" He barked at the nurse.

Even in his addled state Johnny knew the nurse hadn't done anything wrong. He grabbed Kel's arm and forced his eyes open. He met Kel's eyes and nodded lethargically.

"Okay Johnny…okay." Kel relaxed a little. He knew if Johnny was trying to make him forgive whatever had happened to cause his patient to hyperventilate then he was doing better already. "Just take it easy. Slow your breathing. Do you know what happened, Johnny?"

Johnny closed his eyes and turned his head away from the doctor to shut him out.

Kel had seen Johnny try this tactic before, but for now he would let it go. Johnny's heart rate and blood pressure were returning to an acceptable rate. He patted Johnny on the shoulder. "Okay…but we will talk about this later."

* * *

Roy pulled Squad 51 into the command station and eased it backwards into the only empty spot he could see. Mike kept going down the road to the destination that had been radioed to them some ten miles up the road. Brice was the first one out of the Squad and had already started over to the command tent to report in. Roy hesitated in the cab and said a quick prayer for his best friend. Working with Brice grated on anyone's nerves, but he'd gladly do it again if only he knew Johnny would be returning to ride with him. He slowly opened the door and exited the vehicle. He decided to wait there for Brice and leaned against the side of the squad with his head bowed.

"It's not looking to promising for us to get this under control before morning. They need us in the first aide station for our first rotation. They already have a couple of guys in there needing eye wash. We're to leave our equipment on the squad. They have everything we need at the station." Brice rattled off the details with no emotion.

Roy thought he could have been listening to a pre-recorded litany of instructions on the right way to work a brushfire aide station. "Brice…" Craig kept talking in a monotonous tone. "BRICE!" Craig looked up with his mouth open in mid-word. "I've worked brush fires before. I know the drill. I helped teach the second class of recruits. Give it a rest." He pushed passed and headed toward the aide station. He stopped and turned back to wait for his temporary partner. "You coming?"

Craig closed his mouth, nodded his agreement and walked briskly to catch up to Roy. "Yes…yes of course I'm coming." He pushed his glasses up his nose and then set a steely expression void of all emotion on his face. That was Craig's game face, only no one but him actually knew what the game was.

* * *

The closer they got to the ten mile mark the more the men aboard Engine 51 realized this was not going to be a wrap and return to quarters.

Smoke rose from the forest into the California sky blanketing her brilliance with a darkness resembling night. The haze brought on by the rampant beast filtered down between the branches of the canopy over the fire road making it hard to see ten feet in front of the Engine as Mike slowed it to a crawl so as not to hit anyone or anything in the road ahead.

Captain Stanley turned to Chet and Marco to instruct them to put on their SCBA. He was greeted by the two already masked men. Pride momentarily welled in his soul. He knew he had the best crew in L.A. whether it be on the city crews or the county, but for now he couldn't bask in that glory… he had to keep his mind on the job at hand.

Turning back to the front to assist Mike in navigation he said a silent prayer for the safety of his men including the one back at Rampart.

Mike pulled the engine to the side of the fire road in a spot between two other engines. He and Captain Stanley put their SCBA on quickly and the four men gathered the necessary tools to work a fire line. Instructions of their attack zone were given by the man in command; the four men spread out along the thick brush and began digging.

* * *

As the two paramedics walked over to the aide tent Roy rubbed the cold hard case of Johnny's compass he'd carried in his pocket since the accident. He would give it back as soon as they had the opportunity to have the talk that Roy knew Johnny had intended to have before he landed in Rampart. The two men knew when the other had something troubling them. Since talking to Joanne, Roy thought he had a pretty good idea of what Johnny wanted to talk about, but he would wait until Johnny was ready to talk again. Until then, the compass would be closely guarded. Until Johnny found the direction he sought.

* * *

As Johnny gave in to the diazepam, Dr. Brackett monitored the readings on the machines. "Okay, Johnny, things are looking better." He spoke to the man in the bed even though he knew that Johnny had succumbed to sleep. "I don't know what got you so upset, but we don't need any complications. I'll be back when you wake up, and you my friend will talk to me." He stood a few minutes longer just watching before turning and leaving the room.

Dr. Brackett stopped by the nurse's desk to leave instructions for them to notify him as soon as Johnny started showing signs of waking up. He intended to be waiting by his patient's bed for some answers. Although he and Johnny had not always seen eye to eye, Kel now realized the depth of Johnny's emotions and dedication to doing all he could for the people of L.A. when it came to their safety and care; for that he had a deep level of respect for not only the job he did, but also the person he now considered friend.

As he walked down the hall to the elevator he was intercepted by Dixie. "What happened? Is he all right?"

Kel smiled at the concerned beautiful blue eyes that peered up at him. He put his hand on Dixie's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "He's all right. It seems he had a panic attack; hyperventilated, but I gave him some diazepam."

Dixie smiled, "He's okay now." It was more a statement of assurance for herself than a question for Kel.

"Yes, why don't you go check on him? I'm headed back downstairs." Kel knew she wouldn't be satisfied until she had seen Johnny for herself. He smiled at the thoughts of how protective Dixie had grown to be over Johnny; Roy too, but mostly Johnny. "I'll see you in a few minutes." He turned and finished his trek to the elevator while Dixie headed to Johnny's room.

* * *

After hours of digging and clearing brush from the fire line, the crew of Engine 51 was enjoying a fifteen minute respite and some much needed water.

"Man I sure hope Johnny's enjoying the air-conditioning back in his comfy bed." Chet remarked with a bit of jealousy in his tone.

Before anyone realized what was happening Mike was on his feet and standing over Chet with something akin to rage in his eyes. "Do you think he's having a fun time tethered to those machines with his body broken and in constant pain? I mean really Chet… we all know how much Johnny loves his job. Do you for one second think he would rather have been ploughed down by that bastard and left for dead in what was left of his Rover?" He waved his arm in the air as though displaying a vision of the mangled wreckage. "What the hell are you thinking?" He stepped closer to Chet who leaned back to create some distance between himself and the normally calm man.

"Stoker!" Captain Stanley called to the engineer and stepped up beside him. "At ease!"

Mike took another step closer to Chet and opened his mouth to speak again.

"I said at ease!" Cap stressed his command again.

The tone in Cap's voice finally registered in Mike's mind. He stepped back a few paces and looked up at him blinking. "I…" He ran his hand through his hair. "I'm sorry Cap. I…" He looked to Chet and could see the hurt and confusion in his face. "Chet… I… I don't know…" He didn't finish the sentence. He lowered his eyes to the ground and the rigidity of his body relaxed. His shoulders slumped and his hands dropped to his sides. "I'm sorry."

"Aw… it was nothing Mike. We're all just tired and worried about the pigeon. He's gonna be fine. I guess I was just a little jealous about him laying back there in the coolness of his hospital room while we're out here busting our asses on this fire line." He rose up and extended his hand to Mike. "No harm done."

Mike looked up to meet the sincerity in Chet's eyes. He couldn't let himself off that easy. They all knew Chet and Johnny had a very strange friendship; that Chet's comment was only a demonstration of the ongoing love/hate banter they always shared. "I was out of line."

Chet pushed his hand at Mike again. "No harm done."

Mike accepted the gesture of friendship and shook Chet's hand. "Thanks."

Cap slapped his hands together in the way he always did when he was assuming control. "Okay… now that that's finished I think our break is over. Come on men, we have a fire to contain."

Marco dragged his weary body from the running board of Engine 51, pulled his SCBA along with his upward motion. "I sure hope we get this beast contained soon. I don't want to sleep on a cot tonight. Even our bunks at the station would be a welcome sight right now." He rubbed his achy shoulder as he walked back toward the men they would replace on the line stopping only to pick up his shovel that he'd left leaning against the front of the engine. "Come on Chet, let's do this."

Chet caught up to Marco. The two linemen wanted to give Mike and Cap a minute to settle things.

Both Mike and Cap knew the guys were giving them some distance to talk.

"I'm sorry, Cap. Won't happen again." Mike looked into his Captain's eyes.

"Mike…" Cap put his hands on Mike's shoulders. "I know how much you care about Johnny, but this relationship can not interfere with the job we do. Understood."

"Yes sir."

"Now… with that said, unless Chet files formal charges, which is not likely, this matter is closed. However, if I ever see you act that way again…" He didn't finish the sentence, but both men knew exactly what he meant. A formal reprimand would not bode well for Mike if he ever took the Captain's test.

"No sir, it won't happen again."

* * *

Dixie slipped quietly into Johnny's room to find him resting comfortably. All the monitors, bleeps and hisses of oxygen gave her comfort that just as Kel had said… he was all right. She crossed the room and gently swept the bangs from his forehead.

Johnny turned his face toward Dixie's loving gesture, but his eyes remained closed and his breathing even.

"Rest easy my friend. Mike will be home soon."

* * *

Soot and ash swirled in the air mixed with searing heat and bright flames as the fire raged on taunting the many men working to squelch the life out of her hunger. This would not be a battle easily won… or without injury.

The blackened California sky gave in to the setting sun and the darkness loomed into pitch blackness save for the orange hue of the dragon's breath.


	9. Chapter 9

**ROCK ME GENTLY**

By: Lady Gage

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter ****Nine**

They had been digging a fire line for hours when they were relieved and told to report to camp. Four very exhausted firemen boarded their engine and melted into their respective seats. Four sets of eyes slid closed and heads leaned against the side of the cabin or the back of their seats. They didn't move for a few minutes.

Captain Stanley was first to raise his leaning head and pry his gritty eyes back open. "You okay to drive us back?"

Mike raised his head from his folded arms where he had been leaning across the large steering wheel of Engine 51 and squinted over at his boss. He didn't speak but reached for the ignition key and cranked the engine.

"Guess that means yes." Hank Stanley trusted his engineer. Mike had never let him down before, and knowing the man he never would. He slid down a little so he could rest his head on the back of his seat. "Wake me up when we get there." His eyes closed before he could get an answer, but in his mind's eye he knew Mike had flashed him a tired grin. They had played out this scenario too many times to not know how Mike would respond.

Steering the big rig seemed harder than ever with the fatigue in his arms. Thankfully they didn't have far to go. Mike backed the engine in line with the other engines and shut her down. He looked over at Hank and glanced back at Chet and Marco. They were all asleep. The temptation to just lay his head down on the big steering wheel and sleep lasted only for a minute. They were needed on the lines again by sun up unless a miracle happened overnight to contain the beast. "Cap." Mike called out and received no movement to indicate he had been heard. He tried again this time a little louder. "Cap…we're here."

Hank cracked one eye open and looked wearily at Mike. "Here?"

"Camp."

"Oh…okay." Hank shifted and slowly sat up rubbing his face. "Chet, Marco…up and at'em.

Out of habit Marco rose up and swung down from the rig before realizing they weren't at the station. He landed on hard dirt and dust kicked up from his boots. He turned from side to side trying to decide which way to go before turning back to the rig to see where his crew mates were. "Uh, Cap?"

"We're in tent three." Mike told Marco as he climbed out. "There's food in the mess tent. They suggest we eat while we can before bedding down."

Marco looked around at the makeshift tent village and noticed Squad 51 parked among the row of squads. "Hey Roy and Brice are here somewhere." He pointed to the squad.

"They just radioed available. They've been on several runs in the last couple of hours."

Marco looked over at Mike with questioning eyes.

Mike shrugged, "What it's my part of my job to monitor the radio. Force of habit."

Marco smiled back at Mike. "Sure…sure it is." He slung his arm over Mike's shoulder. "Let's see if we can find them." The lineman and engineer walked around to the other side of the engine and waited for Chet and Captain Stanley to catch up to them.

Chet didn't make a sound or any attempt to move. Captain Stanley reached in and pinched his hand. "HEY! Chet called out as he nearly jumped from his seat.

"Come on Kelly. Let's go." Captain Stanley spoke in his no nonsense Captain's voice.

Chet rubbed his eyes and climbed down to join the rest of the crew.

"We'll eat first and then I suggest we get as much shut eye as we can. I'm not sure when they will call us back to the line." Cap gave his instructions as they trudged over to find something to eat. None of them had much appetite, but from experience knew they had to try. Tomorrow it would be hard to keep up the pace if they didn't refuel.

Entering the tent where sandwiches and drinks were set up on a long table the crew grabbed what they wanted on the way past and found Roy and Brice at a table toward the back.

"Hey Roy!" Chet called out as they neared the two paramedics.

Roy smiled at his crew mates. "Good to see you guys." He reached out and squeezed Marco's shoulder as he sat down next to him. "You look beat."

Captain Stanley studied the two paramedics. Roy had worry written all over his face. "Any word on John?"

Roy rubbed his hand over his face and sighed. "No. We never made it back to Rampart. We've been on several runs, but another team handled transport."

Mike studied Roy as he spoke. He knew that if there was something to worry about Roy would know and by the way he looked there was plenty. He took a bite of his sandwich which tasted like cardboard and reached for his drink to try to wash it down. He glanced over at Chet and Marco to see if their sandwiches were as dry and unappetizing as his. They seemed perfectly content with theirs. Instead of more sandwich, Mike reached next for the banana he had picked up and pulled the skin back. There was a dark bruise down the length of the fruit. "Oh man." He whispered disconsolately.

Brice glanced up at the fruit. "It's still okay to eat it you know."

"Yeah, but half of enjoying a meal is the eye appeal." He folded the skin back over the bruised area and laid the banana back down on the table. "You can have it if you want it." Mike reached for his drink again; then picked up the tasteless substitute for a sandwich. "I'll just finish this. I'm too tired to eat anyway."

Hank finished his sandwich and balled up the wrapper. "Okay men, I think we need to find our cots." He slid his chair back and clapped his hands together.

Chet and Marco rose from their seats and cleared their trash.

"Brice and I are still on until 36's gets back from Rampart. We'll meet you guys at the tent." Roy made no move to get up.

Brice, however, began clearing his own trash. He stopped and grabbed Mike's discarded banana, pulled back the peel and ate the bruised fruit. "It is still good." He exclaimed after he finished. "No sense in wasting it."

Mike just silently pushed his chair back and walked away tossing his trash as he passed by the can. "I'm going to check the engine before turning in Cap."

Mike needed some time to think. More than anything he wanted to send up a prayer for Johnny. He crossed back over to the engine and climbed up on the hose bed. The night sky was ablaze with the orange hue from the fire. Smoke lingered in the treetops near the camp wrapping around the limbs and obscuring the view to the upper most branches. The air carried a burnt stench. He lay back on the hose with his hands behind his head and crossed his ankles; within a few moments he was fast asleep.

As his body relaxed and the tension from hours of swinging an axe and shoveling slipped away he began to dream.

He moved closer to Johnny and ran his hands down his arms, back up and across the smooth skin of his chest; then down to his thin waist where he pulled him closer. He could feel the slight tremble as Johnny's body pressed against his. Stopping for just a moment he looked up into Johnny's darkened eyes. "Hey." He said playfully.

Johnny's beautifully masculine eyes were like windows to his heart and were framed by the longest lashes he'd ever seen on anyone, male or female. In them Mike saw acceptance and desire; he also saw love: the love a long time friend develops for another, but even more than that… the love only two souls meant to be together can possess. Mike lost himself in Johnny's eyes. His mouth captured Johnny's sweet, made for tasting full lips in a hungry kiss, pulling the luscious lips between his teeth and sucking lightly, teasing.

Their lips parted but they didn't back away. They stood with their foreheads together breathing deeply; surprised at the force of their desire. Mike noticed Johnny watching him from hooded eyes filled with a mysterious intensity as though he searched for something. He angled his head, slid his hand behind Mike's neck and pulled him in for another kiss.

"Stoker!"

Mike was jolted from his dream by his Captain's call. He sat up panting and sweaty and looked toward the source of the call to see the crew heading his way. Knowing they must have been called out he moved to the rear of the engine. "What's going on Cap?" He asked as he made his way down from the hose bed.

Hank noticed the flushed look his engineer had on his face as he climbed down and the breathless way he spoke. He dismissed it deciding he must have startled the man and right now they didn't have time to discuss it. "There's been a flashover. Fire jumped the lines. Everyone is being called back in." Hank explained as he pulled his SCBA from the engine. "Let's move."

Mike sprung into action with the rest of the crew. As soon as they were all on board he had the engine in motion.

"Did you get any sleep?"

"Uh…yeah…a little. You?" Mike glanced over at Cap. He could tell by looking the answer would be not much, but he waited anyway.

"We were down for about an hour." Hank blew a breath between his lips. "Seemed like five minutes, but it'll have to do for now."

"An hour?" Mike was astonished. It seemed to him like a few minutes. "Are we headed back to the same spot?"

"No three miles up from there and to the east."

The engine followed in line with the other ones also called back to battle. As they drew closer to the new fire line the smoke thickened and in the distance flames could be seen lapping at the tree tops and spinning wildly into the night sky. This would be a long night.


End file.
